1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frame hanger and, more particularly, to a frame hanger which may be readily attached to a wall or other surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous types of devices are known in the art to facilitate the hanging of objects such as framed pictures or clothing on vertical surfaces such as walls or other surfaces. However, in order to install such known devices, it has been necessary to make an orifice or aperture in the wall as a separate step in preparation for affixing the device thereto. Depending upon the construction of the wall, it is often also necessary to insert some additional device into the wall for purposes of reinforcement at the aperture and to allow the material of which the wall is constructed to firmly grasp a portion of the hanger device. Such known inserts have taken the form of plastic or soft metal shields, toggle-bolts and the like. Such inserts also cause the dimensions of the aperture to be critical and thus the apertures must be formed with a drill of an exact size. Furthermore, since these devices are available in a number of sizes, numerous drills, insert devices and other cooperating and accurately sized hardware, such as screws, must be available at the same time for installation to be correctly completed. While the different necessary hardware complicates the installation, such complication provides opportunity for errors and unnecessary damage to the wall.
Further, there are many occasions when the hanger will only be required to bear a small weight and, in such cases, it is often desirable to be able to remove and relocate the hanger. In such cases, hangers using inserts such as the ones described above leave relatively large, unsightly damage visible on the wall at the location from which the hanger has been removed. It is also often difficult or impossible to remove the inserts from the wall and the retention of the insert device thus complicates repair of the wall surface.
In this latter case, such hangers are often used for the suspension of decorations such as placards or other wall hangings. In such a case, it is also desirable that the hanger device itself be of very small dimensions, which further complicates installation in the handling of small parts and application of tools to them, particularly when the hanger is installed by driving with a hammer.
Further, many types of hanger hardware known in the art provide an offset between the point at which the hanger device is attached to the wall and the portion which will support the weight of an object suspended therefrom. Such offsets are, in practice, difficult to estimate and often require several attempts at installation before the exact location of the hanger can be made to coincide with the position desired, causing further damage to the wall and increasing installation time.
Accordingly, it is seen that hanger devices known in the art have numerous disadvantages with regard to practical usage thereof. Such disadvantages include the requirement for additional coordinated hardware and tools, difficulty in positioning and relocating the hanger device, damage to the surface on which the hanger device is installed and difficulty in the manipulation of numerous small parts.